Looking for Someone to Talk to for Support!

Hello my name is Vicki and I have been suffering from tinnitus for the last 6 months and am at the point where I do not even want to live anymore! I really want to find soneone that I can talk with over the phone who is suffering from tinnitus as well and who can relate with where I am coming from... Please it would greatly be appreciated! Thank you!

 

Hi Karen.

Thank you for reaching out and replying to my thread. I have been suffering from tinnitus for a little over 6 months now and truly am losing my mind! I just can't take living like this no more! I just want my old way of life back! I was really hoping to find someone to talk to over the phone because I'm just not that up to speed with all this internet technology and would benefit so much better from an actual voice. I am 52 years old and work in a factory. I have one son who means the world to me. Roughly six months ago I just woke up to a ringing in my ears that has not left since then. Some days I can tolerate better then others but recently it has been so bad that I just can't stand living like this no more. All I really want is to find someone who is going through the same thing I am with tinnitus to talk to over the phone for support. It might sound silly but an actual voice would do wonders for me. I understand we might not be able to exchange numbers but I can't quit trying until I find someone to talk to. By chance do you ever experience any burning sensations in your ears with this tinnitus? I do... Along with a variety of different high/low pitched sounds... I really appreciate you talking with me... Thank you so much!

Vicki

 

Vicki, where are you located?

 

You can find some support in your area, please check out the link below
http://www.ata.org/support

 

Vicki,

Please read some of the "success stories" here on TT, because they helped me calm down and to have hope for a brighter future.

You are going through the rough period now, but think of your son and keep active! Maybe ask a doctor for some ant-anxiety meds for the short term. Xanax may help you. Also protect your ears from noise! I see you work in a factory. is it a noisy one? If so, get earplugs!

Try to not panic and add sound around the house, especially at night. Homedics makes a great sound machine for $20. 6 different nature sounds. I use it every night.

Get some Melatonin, 5HTP and L-Theanine for sleeping. it helps me relax before bedtime and allows me to sleep soundly.

Don't give up hope! there's no hope, if your gone. I pray a lot and put my faith in God, to help me through the dark times. So far, these things have worked for me.

God bless,

Sailboardman

 

Vicki,I know also I also have had T for 6 months 50years old .We all can relate we all have at some stage tinnitus.I know somedays are better and like you we still have some habituating to do and we will feel better and better with time.You are on the right support group here on TT.These folks on here are really good people .You will get the support you need .You are not alone dealing with T. You will be alright.You will get back to living and just cling on to your family and friends take it easy on yourself take care of you now and do the things to help you get sleep and deal with anxiety.I eat do go or whatever I can do to deal with the stress within reason.I too like karen am on a natural path but I did in the first 3 month take klonipin xanax and I tried Anti-depressants now I take melatonin L-theanine magnesium and other vitamines D,Bs,Zinc,ect.but if you are really having anxiety mabe you could get a lowdose of something to get you over this patch then you can move on to a natural way later.This is what I did.Those kinda meds like benzos are meant short term use and are really good at dealing with stress but can be addictive.But not if you take them as they we're intended to be taken.I'm not telling you to take those type meds but a doctor could talk to you about it and advise you.There are natural ways herbs and teas that are really good at dealing with stress and sleep I would advise you to try these first.L-theanine is a chemical in tea and it really knocks the stress down for me. We care for you Vicki just know that we all have and are going through it too.AS I have said we are all brothers and sisters of this T and we all support each other as family. Huggs and Prayers .God Bless . You will be alright. Mike K (uncle vikin) .If there is a way I will talk to you.Heck yea .I will but I am sure karen or someone will too.She has had T longer and knows where me and you are at on our habituation stage .I have had a private conversation for 4 months straight like every day with a member on here and it has helped get us through some rough times.

 

Uncle Vikin,

Hello,

I truly appreciate you taking the time to reach out to me and be there for support! Yes you are right we are all dealing with this together and need to stick together like family to get through this and for support! Yes Karen is very nice as well and has been there for me since I first joined this site the other day. I am out with my son today... He is a tremendous help for me as well. Although I will be on this site periodically through out the entire day! Please stay in touch and God bless you!

Vicki

 

Hi Vicki, i know what you are feeling right now, all of us know what you are feeling right now, you are not alone.

I have been "suffering" (because i don't suffer that much anymore) from T for 2 years. I'm 31 years old. I can ear it over any environment noise, over TV, over car drive. My sound is ultra high pitched, around 14Khz, so its almost imposible to mask with another sound, at least the sounds that i've tried.

I'm a software engineer, when my T started I thought it was over, that i won't be able to work again, to read again, to concentrate, to sleep, to live a life. But i also have a beautiful son and a wonderful wife, so i decided to fight back.

Now, here I'm, 2 years with T, moderate Hyperacusis, 10:44 of the morning, in the office, doing the things i Love again. I still hear it, but does not affect me anymore as it used to in the past.

Vicki, its very hard, so much hard, but you will find that in some point you can handle very well most of the time. You can ask here, and 90% of people seems to get habituated. It's like your fan when it is hot weather.... you can hear it loud, but you don't care that much. Just like you, i also have physical symptoms, burning ears, ear pain, TMJ pain, diziness, eye pain... it make it more difficult to handle with T, but i'm doing very well and i can bet you that you will.

I would love to talk with you, but i'm kind of far, so it is maybe better if you find someone near your home, so you can go and have some meal and forget your T for a while. The "secret" to habituate, its just to start doing things in spite of your T, dont measure the level of sound, don't look for the types of sounds, just hear it, try to relax, and keep on with common activities.

Please don't lose your love for living, T does not deserve that, because once you habituate, once you start to handle your T better, you can start living your life again.

 

Hey Vicki,

How are you doing today? Hanging in there? I wish you a better tomorrow! You are in my prayers now!

God bless!

Sailboardman

 

Vicki, anytime you need to talk you can get the support on here.It has helped me get through this rough patch of my life.Besides the advice and doctors corner and success stories ,it is the support of all these great people on this site and I really do mean this. There are some really caring people on here.It would be nice to just get together and meet everyone but I know that would be hard to set up.This site was put together really well and it is a very important support site for people with Tinnitus.I thank God every day that I found TT.
Vicki I hope you are sleeping ,There are alot of supplements that are safe and work good .Melatonin SR 3mg up to 5mg
sustained release will help keep you asleep longer,L-theanine a chemical in green tea I take the chewable 200 mg, also like Karen said holy basil is good,magnesium I take it in powder form in water a product called Calm.also some herbal tea for sleep there are alot of herbs you should try to find a good health food store and talk to someone that knows alot about sleep herbs.Now I also take a adrenal support extract that seems to have calmed my fight or flight down .Your adrenal glands can get stressed so you could look into that .Tart Black cherry juice helps calm and is really very good for you.I also take grape seed extract,b complex ,zinc.omega 3,6,9,flaxseed oil is really good. hope this helps Vicki
Hope you start to get this T under controll so you can soon be back to yourself again .God bless I will also pray for you and everyone here like I said we are a family. Huggs (Uncle Vikin)

 

Hi Vicki,
God bless you for reaching out. So many of us feel you anguish. I, too, felt the same way over a year ago.

The first thing I did was call a Behavioral Therapist. To find a good therapist get a referral from someone who has a good one. Or look up Behavioral Therapists in your area. Call and ask if they can work with you for the tinnitus.

Once I got on track of understanding my anxiety I was able to reason with it and move forward on how to manage it. This is not a quick fix. But once you find the tools and continually use them your life will improve.

Therapy is not cheap. But it was the best money I have spent throughout my tinnitus journey.

 

Thank you for your advice it really helps. Everyone on this site has been so helpful to me. God bless you to and I hope someday all of us who have T will be cured one way or another.

Vicki

 

I live in the UK, and when I first got T I really wanted to talk to someone. How about we have a Skype chat? I've never done it before, but I'm sure I can figure it out. If interested, let me know, and we'll arange a time.

 

Vicki, 6 months is still a relatively short time for habituation, especially considering you are freaking out by the sound and have many distorted thoughts which lead to your brain zooming in on T often as it thinks T is a threat. Saying that, your reactions are very normal among the T sufferers. You will find that by reading on other's stories. The reality is that during the traumatic initial phase, our mind is controlled by the limbic nervous system which functions in 'fight or flight' mode and your brain will zoom in on anything you consider a threat. So by reading other's stories, you will know T is not an end game as it presents itself to you, and you will feel less threatened.

In fact I encourage you read as many success stories as you can. In there you will find most people went through the terrible initial phase of sufferings as you are going through now but they eventually get better. You can learn some insights from their stories and you can find hope and comfort that T is not an end game as your brain is suggesting that to you now (which keeps you suffering). Try to apply those things you learn from others. That is what I did a few years back. I had ultra high pitch loud T like 10x the pitch of the dentist drill. I also had severe hyperacusis which turned all normal sounds glassy and they appeared piercingly hurtful to the senses. I had to wear ear plugs but the plugs blocked the outside masking sounds, making T so unbearably dominant. These two new monsters of my life also triggered relentless anxiety and panic attacks on auto mode the minute I woke up. No amount of will power could stop these attacks. Sufferings were unbearable. Yes, the big S word was dangling in front of this tired and stressed out mind too as it saw no way out of the long dark tunnel. I remember saying how on earth I can live the rest of my life like this. I never thought I can recover and have my good life back. But here I am today enjoying my life and don't give a dime to T. Thanks God. So don't give up and do try to learn from others how to get better. Do something to change your thinking and be more positive. Try read up the Positivity Thread too. If T is hard to hear, try masking. If the nerve is too wrecked, get some meds to help. That is what I had to do initially. Have hope and relax. You will be just fine.